Radio communication terminal device and radio communication method

ABSTRACT

Provided are a radio communication terminal apparatus and a radio transmission method by which intersymbol interference of DM-RS of a CoMP terminal and a Non-CoMP terminal can be reduced. A CoMP set setting unit ( 102 ) sets the cell IDs of all cells in the CoMP set in a cell selection unit ( 104 ), and a serving cell setting unit ( 103 ) sets the cell ID of the serving cell in the cell selection unit ( 104 ). The cell selection unit ( 104 ) selects the cell ID having a number closest to the cell ID of the serving cell from the cells in the CoMP set. A sequence information calculation unit ( 106 ) derives a sequence group number from the selected cell ID, and the sequence information calculation unit ( 106 ) calculates a sequence number from the derived sequence group number and a transmission bandwidth of the DM-RS.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a radio communication terminalapparatus and a radio communication method.

BACKGROUND ART

In the LTE-Advanced developed from the 3rd Generation PartnershipProject Long Term Evolution (3GPP LTE), it is under consideration tointroduce uplink coordinated multiple point transmission and reception(UL CoMP). The CoMP refers to a technique of improving the throughput ofa terminal in a cell edge region such that a plurality of cells (basestations) perform transmission and reception of a signal with a radiocommunication terminal apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as“terminal”) in a coordinated manner. The UL CoMP improves the receptionquality by receiving a signal transmitted from one terminal at aplurality of cells (base stations) and synthesizing the receivedsignals. Further, in order to reduce influence of intercellinterference, a plurality of cells in a CoMP set (a group of cells thatperform transmission and reception in a coordinated manner) schedule theterminal in a coordinated manner not to increase intercell interference.

In Non-Patent Literature 1, in order to further increase the performanceimprovement effect of the UL CoMP, it has been discussed to introduce amultiple user-multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) technique betweena terminal to which the UL CoMP is applied, that is, a terminal of whichtransmission signal is received and synthesized at a plurality of cells(hereinafter, referred to as “CoMP terminal”) and a terminal to whichthe UL CoMP is not applied (hereinafter, referred to as “non-CoMPterminal”). The MIMO is a technique of simultaneously spatiallymultiplexing and transmitting different signal sequences at the samefrequency by the use of a plurality of antennas at both transmitter andreceiver stations. Further, the MU-MIMO can improve frequency useefficiency of a system through a technique of performing MIMOcommunication between a plurality of terminals and a base station.

In the MU-MIMO communication, in order to demultiplex signals ofdifferent terminals, it is necessary to transmit an orthogonal datademodulation reference signal (hereinafter, referred to as “DM-RS”)between terminals. In the uplink of the conventional LTE in which theCoMP is not performed, the MU-MIMO technique is employed between thenon-CoMP terminals, and an orthogonal cyclic shifted Zadoff-Chu (CS-ZC)sequence is used between terminals as the DM-RS. The CS-ZC sequence is asequence obtained by cyclic-shifting a ZC sequence, and a plurality ofCS-ZC sequences obtained by cyclic-shifting the ZC sequence of the samesequence number can be made orthogonal to one another by setting a valuelarger than a maximum propagation delay time of a transmission signal ofa terminal as a cyclic shift amount. Further, in the uplink of the LTE,a sequence group in which a ZC sequence number for the DM-RS of eachtransmission bandwidth available within a cell is defined is configured,and one sequence group is assigned to each cell. By informing terminalswithin a cell of a sequence group number, the base station may notperform signaling of the ZC sequence number for the DM-RS by a change ina transmission bandwidth. Further, 30 sequence groups are defined, andin order to reduce intercell interference, different sequence groups areassigned to neighboring cells.

However, when the DM-RS of the LTE is applied to the CoMP terminal “asis”, as will be described below, the DM-RS of the CoMP terminal may notbe orthogonal to the DM-RS of the non-CoMP terminal, and thus thereception performance at the time of MU-MIMO may degrade. As illustratedin FIG. 1, a DM-RS transmitted from a one certain CoMP terminal isreceived at a plurality of cells (base stations). Since the DM-RSsreceived at the plurality of cells are the same signals transmitted fromone terminal, a cell in which the ZC sequence number for the DM-RS ofthe CoMP terminal is different from the ZC sequence number for the DM-RSof the non-CoMP terminal occurs as in a cell 2 of FIG. 1. Since the ZCsequences having different sequence numbers are not orthogonal to eachother, interference (cross correlation) occurs between terminals in thiscell, and thus the reception performance at the time of MU-MIMOdegrades.

In Non-Patent Literature 1, a Walsh sequence is used to have the DM-RSof the CoMP terminal to be orthogonal to the DM-RS of the Non-CoMPterminal. In the LTE, as illustrated in FIG. 2, two DM-RSs aretransmitted through one sub frame; however, each of the two DM-RSs ismultiplied by a Walsh sequence ((1,1) or (1,−1)) of which sequencelength is 2. A receiver side multiplies the two DM-RSs by the same Walshsequence as a transmitter side, and performs in-phase addition of themultiplied DM-RSs. If there is no temporal change in a channel betweenthe two DM-RSs, the DM-RSs multiplied by different Walsh sequences bythe in-phase addition process (interference components) have phasesopposite to each other, and thus interference can be completely removed.Even when neighboring cells have different sequence group numbers(sequence numbers) as in the LTE, if there is no temporal change in achannel, the DM-RSs can be orthogonal to each other by multiplying theDM-RSs by different Walsh sequences.

Further, in Non-Patent Literature 1, it is stated that one sequencegroup used for generating the DM-RS of the CoMP terminal is selectedfrom sequence groups (30 groups as in the LTE) used in the CoMP set;however, a concrete method of selecting the sequence group is notstated. Further, similarly to the non-CoMP terminal, it is considered toselect the sequence group used by a cell (serving cell) that transmitscontrol information to the own terminal.

CITATION LIST Non-Patent Literature

-   NPTL 1-   3GPP R1-091760, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nokia, “Uplink DM RS from    CoMP viewpoint”

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

However, when there is a temporal change in a channel between the twoDM-RSs, othogonality by the Walsh sequence collapses, and interferenceoccurs between the CoMP terminal and the non-CoMP terminal. When thereis a temporal change in a channel, the interference components of thetwo DM-RSs change in phase and amplitude. In the in-phase additionprocess of the two DM-RSs at the receiver side, the interferencecomponents do not have phases completely opposite to each other, andthus the interference components remain.

When intersymbol interference between the DM-RS of the CoMP terminal andthe DM-RS of the non-CoMP terminal is strong, it is difficult todemultiplex data of each terminal in MU-MIMO communication, and thereception performance significantly degrades.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a radiocommunication terminal apparatus and a radio communication method, whichare capable of reducing intersymbol interference between the DM-RS ofthe CoMP terminal and the DM-RS of the non-CoMP terminal.

Solution to Problem

A radio communication terminal apparatus that performs transmission andreception with a plurality of base stations that perform transmissionand reception in a coordinated manner, includes a base station selectionsection that selects a base station other than a base station thattransmits control information addressed to the radio communicationterminal apparatus from among the plurality of base stations, aZadoff-Chu (ZC) sequence generation section that generates a referencesignal using a ZC sequence assigned to the selected base station, and atransmission section that transmits the generated reference signal.

A radio communication method of allowing a plurality of base stations toperform transmission and reception with a radio communication terminalapparatus in a coordinated manner, includes selecting a base stationother than a base station that transmits control information addressedto the radio communication terminal apparatus from among the pluralityof base stations, generating a reference signal using a Zadoff-Chu (ZC)sequence assigned to the selected base station, and transmitting thegenerated reference signal.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce intersymbolinterference between the DM-RS of the CoMP terminal and the DM-RS of thenon-CoMP terminal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a CoMP terminalperforms MU-MIMO with a non-CoMP terminal;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a DM-RS using a Walsh sequence;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a terminalaccording to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a basestation according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a sequenceinformation setting section illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a terminalaccording to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a sequenceinformation setting section illustrated in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a cell selectionsection selects a cell ID;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a terminalaccording to Embodiment 3 of the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a sequenceinformation setting section illustrated in FIG. 9.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The inventor has devised the present invention by focusing attention onthe following two points. Firstly, DM-RS intersymbol interferencebetween terminals (the CoMP terminal and the non CoMP terminal)occurring due to collapse of othogonality of the Walsh sequenceincreases when the DM-RSs of the two terminals use the same sequencegroup (sequence number). A correlation characteristic between the DM-RSsusing the same sequence group (sequence number) becomes anautocorrelation characteristic, and thus is much higher in a maximumcorrelation value than a cross correlation characteristic betweendifferent sequence numbers.

Secondly, as a path loss between a terminal and a base stationdecreases, interference occurring due to collapse of othogonality of theWalsh sequence increases. The CoMP terminal transmits a signal atpredetermined power, and the signal is received by a plurality of basestations. In this case, as a path loss between the CoMP terminal and thebase station decreases, a reception level increases. Thus, wheninterference occurs due to collapse of othogonality of the Walshsequence, the smaller the pass loss is, the higher interference poweris.

Embodiments of the present invention made by focusing the above pointswill be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.In the following embodiments, components having the same function aredenoted by the same reference numerals, and the redundant descriptionwill not be repeated.

(Embodiment 1)

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a terminalaccording to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3,sequence information setting section 101 includes CoMP set settingsection 102, serving cell setting section 103, cell selection section104, and sequence information calculating section 106.

CoMP set setting section 102 stores cell IDs of all cells in a CoMP set,and outputs the stored cell IDs of all cells to cell selection section104.

Serving cell setting section 103 outputs a cell ID of a cell thattransmits control information addressed to the own terminal, that is, acell ID of a serving cell, to cell selection section 104.

Cell selection section 104 selects a cell ID of a cell other than theserving cell among cells in the CoMP set, based on the cell ID outputfrom CoMP set setting section 102 and the cell ID of the serving celloutput from serving cell setting section 103. For example, a cell ID ofwhich number is closest to (or farthest from) the cell ID of the servingcell from the cell IDs in the CoMP set may be selected. That is, apredetermined rule is agreed between the terminal and the base stationin advance. Then, information from which a sequence group number for aDM-RS used in the selected cell can be derived is output to sequenceinformation calculating section 106. For example, when the sequencegroup number is uniquely associated with the cell ID, the cell ID of theselected cell is output. When the sequence group number is derived usinga cell-specific parameter other than the cell ID, both the cell ID andthe parameter are output.

Transmission bandwidth setting section 105 stores a transmissionbandwidth of the DM-RS, and outputs the stored transmission bandwidth ofthe DM-RS to sequence information calculating section 106.

Sequence information calculating section 106 calculates a sequencenumber and a sequence length of a sequence used as the DM-RS for theCoMP terminal based on the transmission bandwidth of the DM-RS outputfrom transmission bandwidth setting section 105 and the information,from which the sequence group number for the DM-RS can be derived,output from cell selection section 104. Sequence information calculatingsection 106 first derives a sequence group number based on theinformation output from cell selection section 104. Subsequently, asequence number corresponding to the transmission bandwidth is obtainedbased on the derived sequence group. Then, the sequence lengthcorresponding to the number of sub carriers of the transmissionbandwidth is calculated. The obtained sequence number and the sequencelength are output to ZC sequence generation section 107.

ZC sequence generation section 107 generates a ZC sequence using thesequence number and the sequence length output from sequence informationcalculating section 106, and outputs the ZC sequence to Walsh sequencemultiplying section 108.

Walsh sequence multiplying section 108 multiplies the ZC sequence forthe DM-RS of slots 1 and 2 by a Walsh sequence having a sequence lengthof 2 as illustrated in FIG. 2, and outputs the resultant ZC sequence tomapping section 109.

Mapping section 109 maps the ZC sequence output from Walsh sequencemultiplying section 108 with the transmission band of the own terminal,and outputs the resultant ZC sequence to inverse fast Fourier transform(IFFT) section 110.

IFFT section 110 executes an IFFT process on the ZC sequence output frommapping section 109, and outputs the ZC sequence that has been subjectedto the IFFT process to CP adding section 111.

CP adding section 111 adds the same signal as a frame tail part of asignal output from IFFT section 110 to a frame header as a cyclic prefix(CP), and outputs the resultant signal to RF transmission section 112.

RF transmission section 112 executes a transmission process, such asdigital-to-analog (DA) conversion, up-conversion, and amplification, onthe signal output from CP adding section 111, and transmits the signalthat has been subjected to the transmission process through antenna 113as the DM-RS.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a basestation according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Referring toFIG. 4, RF reception section 202 executes a reception process, such asdown conversion and A/D conversion, on a signal received through antenna201, and outputs the signal that has been subjected to the receptionprocess to CP removing section 203.

CP removing section 203 removes the CP included in the signal outputfrom RF reception section 202, and outputs the signal from which the CPhas been removed to demultiplexing section 204.

Demultiplexing section 204 demultiplexes the signal output from CPremoving section 203 into a DM-RS signal and a data signal, outputs theDM-RS to fast Fourier transform (FFT) section 205, and outputs the datasignal to FFT section 215.

FFT section 205 executes an FFT process to convert the DM-RS signal inthe time domain output from demultiplexing section 204 into a DM-RSsignal in the frequency domain, and outputs the converted DM-RS signalin the frequency domain to demapping section 206.

Demapping section 206 extracts a DM-RS signal corresponding to a desiredterminal's transmission band from the DM-RS signal in the frequencydomain output from FFT section 205, and outputs the extracted DM-RSsignal to Walsh sequence multiplying section 207.

Walsh sequence multiplying section 207 multiplies the DM-RSs of theslots 1 and 2 by the Walsh sequence having the sequence length of 2 sameas the terminal side, and performs in-phase addition of the two DM-RSsignals. The in-phase added DM-RS signal is output to dividing section211.

Transmission bandwidth setting section 208 stores the transmissionbandwidth of the DM-RS, and outputs the stored transmission bandwidth ofthe DM-RS to sequence information setting section 209.

Sequence information setting section 209 includes CoMP set settingsection 102, serving cell setting section 103, cell selection section104, and sequence information calculating section 106, similarly tosequence information setting section 101 of the terminal illustrated inFIG. 3. Here, since the description is repeated, the detaileddescription will not be provided.

ZC sequence generation section 210 generates a ZC sequence using thesequence number and the sequence length output from sequence informationsetting section 209, and outputs the ZC sequence to dividing section211.

Dividing section 211 divides the DM-RS signal output from Walsh sequencemultiplying section 207 by the ZC sequence, which has been actuallytransmitted from the terminal, output from ZC sequence generationsection 210, and outputs a division result to IFFT section 212.

IFFT section 212 executes the IFFT process on the division result outputfrom dividing section 211, and outputs the signal that has beensubjected to the IFFT process to mask processing section 213.

Mask processing section 213 extracts a section in which a correlationvalue of a desired cyclic shift sequence is present, that is, acorrelation value of a window portion by executing a mask process on theDM-RS signal output from IFFT section 212, and outputs the extractedcorrelation value to discrete Fourier transform (DFT) section 214.

DFT section 214 executes a DFT process on the correlation value outputfrom mask processing section 213, and outputs the correlation value thathas been subjected to the DFT process to frequency domain equalizingsection 217. Here, the signal output from DFT section 214 is a signalrepresenting a frequency response of a propagation path.

FFT section 215 executes the FFT process to convert a data signal in thetime domain output from demultiplexing section 204 into a data signal inthe frequency domain, and outputs the converted data signal in thefrequency domain to demapping section 216.

Demapping section 216 extracts a data signal corresponding to a desiredterminal's transmission band from the data signal output from FFTsection 215, and outputs the extracted data signal to frequency domainequalizing section 217.

Frequency domain equalizing section 217 executes an equalizing processon the data signal output from demapping section 216 using the signalrepresenting the frequency response of the propagation path output fromDFT section 214, and outputs the signal that has been subjected to theequalizing process to IFFT section 218.

IFFT section 218 executes the IFFT process on the data signal outputfrom frequency domain equalizing section 217, and outputs the signalthat has been subjected to the IFFT process to demodulating section 219.

Demodulating section 219 executes a demodulating process on the signaloutput from IFFT section 218, and outputs the signal that has beensubjected to the demodulating process to decoding section 220.

Decoding section 220 executes a decoding process on the signal outputfrom demodulating section 219, and thus extracts a reception data.

Next, an operation of sequence information setting section 101 (209)illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 will be described with reference to FIG. 5.Referring to FIG. 5, in step (hereinafter, abbreviated as “ST”) 301,CoMP set setting section 102 sets cell IDs of all cells in a CoMP set tocell selection section 104, and in ST302, serving cell setting section103 sets a cell ID of a serving cell to cell selection section 104.

In ST303, cell selection section 104 selects a cell ID of which numberis closest to the cell ID of the serving cell, and in ST304,transmission bandwidth setting section 105 sets a transmission bandwidthof a DM-RS to sequence information calculating section 106.

In ST305, sequence information calculating section 106 derives asequence group number from the selected cell ID, and in ST306, sequenceinformation calculating section 106 calculates a sequence number basedon the derived sequence group number and the set transmission bandwidth.

As described above, sequence information setting section 101 obtains thesequence number used by a cell other than the serving cell from amongcells in the CoMP set, and sets the sequence as the DM-RS for a CoMPterminal. Here, a cell that is smallest in a path loss (or distance)occurring between a transmission point of a terminal and a receptionpoint of a cell is generally selected as the serving cell so as tosecure the control information reception performance. Thus, when thesame sequence as the serving cell is used as the DM-RS and orthogonalityof the Walsh sequence collapses, the sequence functions as aninterference source having the strongest reception level. In thisregard, in the present embodiment, the occurrence of the strongestinterference can be prevented by selecting the sequence used by the cellother than the serving cell.

Since the CoMP terminal has information about the cell IDs in the CoMPset so as to report reception quality information or the like, when thecell ID uniquely corresponds to the sequence group number (or sequencenumber), it is not necessary to newly notify of the sequence groupnumber or the sequence number of the DM-RS for the CoMP terminal.Similarly, it is not necessary to signal the sequence group number fromthe base station to the CoMP terminal.

Further, when a plurality of cells other than the serving cell arepresent, the cell ID of which number is closest to or farthest from thecell ID of the serving cell is selected from among the cell IDs in theCoMP set, or a cell of which number is smallest or largest is selectedfrom among all cell IDs other than the serving cell as described above.That is, a predetermined rule is agreed between the terminal and thebase station in advance so that one cell can be uniquely selected.

Further, by selecting the sequence used in the CoMP set, the distancebetween the cells using the same sequence can be the same as in theconventional art (LTE system), and performance degradation of theconventional terminal (the non-CoMP terminal) can be prevented.Meanwhile, when the CoMP terminal uses the sequence used by a cell thatdoes not belong to the CoMP set, the distance between the cells usingthe same sequence is further reduced to be smaller than that in theconventional system in which the CoMP terminal is not present, and thusintercell interference increases.

As described above, according to Embodiment 1, since the CoMP terminalselects the sequence used by the cell other than the serving cell fromamong the cells in the CoMP set, it is possible to reduce intersymbolinterference between the DM-RS of the CoMP terminal and the DM-RS of thenon-CoMP terminal, which occurs due to collapse of othogonality of theWalsh sequence. Thus, it is possible to reduce degradation in thereception performance at the time of the MU-MIMO communication betweenthe CoMP terminal and the non-CoMP terminal.

(Embodiment 2)

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a terminalaccording to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The differencebetween FIG. 3 and FIG. 6 lies in that CoMP set setting section 102 isreplaced with CoMP set setting section 401, serving cell setting section103 is replaced with CoMP subset setting section 402, and cell selectionsection 104 is replaced with cell selection section 403.

CoMP set setting section 402 stores all cell IDs in a group of cells(CoMP measurement set) that are reported about the reception quality ofeach link of the terminal as a CoMP set, and outputs all stored cell IDsto cell selection section 403. Here, the CoMP set is used as the CoMPmeasurement set.

CoMP subset setting section 402 stores a group of cells (CoMPtransmission points) that actually transmit and receive data, amongcells in the CoMP set, as a CoMP subset, and outputs cell IDs of cellsbelonging to the subset of the CoMP set set by CoMP set setting section402 to cell selection section 403. The CoMP subset is selected based onthe path loss between the CoMP terminal and the base station.

Cell selection section 403 selects a cell which is included not in theCoMP transmission point but in the CoMP measurement set, based on thecell ID of each cell in the CoMP measurement set output from CoMP setsetting section 401 and the cell ID of each cell in the CoMP subsetoutput from CoMP subset setting section 402. That is, cell selectionsection 403 selects a cell having a small path loss from among the CoMPmeasurement sets. Information from which the sequence group number forthe DM-RS used by the selected cell can be derived is output to sequenceinformation calculating section 106.

The configuration of the base station according to Embodiment 2 of thepresent invention is different from the configuration of FIG. 4according to Embodiment 1 in that sequence information setting section209 is replaced with sequence information setting section 400illustrated in FIG. 6, and thus the detailed description will not beprovided.

Next, an operation of sequence information setting section 400illustrated in FIG. 6 will be described with reference to FIG. 7. InFIG. 7, the same components as in FIG. 5 are denoted by the samereference numerals, and thus the redundant description will not berepeated. Referring to FIG. 7, in ST501, CoMP set setting section 401sets cell IDs of all cells in the CoMP measurement set to cell selectionsection 403, and in ST502, CoMP subset setting section 402 sets cell IDsof cells in the CoMP subset to cell selection section 403.

In ST503, cell selection section 403 selects a cell that is included notin the CoMP subset but in the CoMP measurement set, and in ST504, cellselection section 403 determines whether the number of cell IDs selectedin ST503 is one. When it is determined that the number of selected cellsis one (YES), the process proceeds to ST304. When it is determined thatthe number of selected cells is not one (NO), the process proceeds toST505.

In ST505, cell selection section 403 determines whether the number ofcell IDs selected in ST503 is zero (0). When it is determined that thenumber of selected cell IDs is zero (0) (YES), the process proceeds toST303. When it is determined that the number of selected cells is notzero (0) (NO), the process proceeds to ST506.

In ST506, cell selection section 403 selects a cell ID that is smallestamong the cell IDs selected in ST503.

Here, a state in which cell selection section 403 selects a cell ID willbe concretely described with reference to FIG. 8. In FIG. 8, it isassumed that the CoMP measurement set includes cells 1 to 3, and theCoMP subset includes cells 1 and 2. Further, it is assumed that cellselection section 403 selects cell 3 as a cell which is included not inthe CoMP subset but in the CoMP measurement set. As a result, a sequenceused by a cell having a largest path loss can be used as the DM-RS forthe CoMP terminal.

As described above, according to Embodiment 2, since the CoMP terminalselects the cell which is included not in the CoMP subset but in theCoMP measurement set, it is possible to more reliably reduce intersymbolinterference between the DM-RS of the CoMP terminal and the DM-RS of thenon-CoMP terminal, which occurs due to collapse of othogonality of theWalsh sequence. In addition, since the sequence used for reducing theintersymbol interference between terminals can be more reliably selectedcompared to Embodiment 1, degradation in the reception performance ofMU-MIMO communication between the CoMP terminal and the non-CoMPterminal can be reliably reduced.

In FIG. 8, cells that transmit downstream data are defined as the CoMPsubset; however, cells that receive upstream data may be defined as theCoMP subset.

Further, when the number of cells in the CoMP set and the number ofcells in the CoMP subset are defined as in Formula 1, in Embodiment 2,one cell to be selected can be uniquely obtained.(number of cells in CoMP set)=(number of cells in CoMP set)+1  (1)

(Embodiment 3)

Embodiment 2 has been described under the assumption that the cellconfiguring the CoMP subset is selected based on the path loss betweenthe CoMP terminal and the base station. However, the cell configuringthe CoMP subset may be selected in view of load sharing, for example, soas to equalize traffics of cells. In this regard, Embodiment 3 of thepresent invention will be described in connection with an example inwhich the intersymbol interference between the DM-RS of the CoMPterminal and the DM-RS of the non-CoMP terminal is more reliably reducedregardless of whether the cell configuring the CoMP subset is selectedbased on the path loss between the CoMP terminal and the base station.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a terminalaccording to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. The differencebetween FIG. 3 and FIG. 9 lies in that CoMP set setting section 102 isreplaced with CoMP set setting section 601, serving cell setting section103 is replaced with path loss information setting section 602, and cellselection section 104 is replaced with cell selection section 603.

CoMP set setting section 601 stores all cell IDs in the CoMP measurementset, and outputs all stored cell IDs to cell selection section 603.Here, the CoMP set is used as the CoMP measurement set.

Path loss information setting section 602 outputs a path loss value ofeach cell in the CoMP set to cell selection section 603. The path lossvalue has reported to the base station by the own terminal.

Cell selection section 603 selects a cell having a largest path lossvalue based on the cell ID of each cell in the CoMP set output from CoMPset setting section 601 and the path loss value of each cell output frompath loss information setting section 602. Information from which thesequence group number for the DM-RS used by the selected cell can bederived is output to sequence information calculating section 106.

The configuration of the base station according to Embodiment 3 of thepresent invention is different from the configuration of FIG. 4according to Embodiment 1 in that sequence information setting section101 is replaced with sequence information setting section 600illustrated in FIG. 9, and thus the detailed description will not berepeated.

Next, an operation of sequence information setting section 600illustrated in FIG. 9 will be described with reference to FIG. 10. InFIG. 10, the same components as in FIG. 5 are denoted by the samereference numerals, and thus the redundant description will not berepeated. Referring to FIG. 10, in ST701, CoMP set setting section 601sets cell IDs of all cells in the CoMP measurement set to cell selectionsection 603, and in ST702, path loss information setting section 602sets a path loss value of each cell in the CoMP set to cell selectionsection 603.

In ST703, cell selection section 603 selects a cell having a largestpath loss value from among the cells included in the CoMP measurementset.

As described above, sequence information setting section 600 obtains thesequence number used by the cell having the largest path loss among thepath losses of links which the terminal has reported to the basestation, and sets the sequence as the DM-RS for the CoMP terminal. Here,the base station that performs scheduling of the CoMP terminal hasinformation about the path losses reported from the terminals belongingto the CoMP set, and thus the sequence number to be selected by theterminal can match with the sequence number to be selected by the basestation.

Further, when a plurality of cells have the same path loss value andsatisfy the condition, similarly to Embodiment 1, a cell having aminimum value or a maximum value is selected from among cell IDssatisfying the condition. That is, a predetermined rule is agreedbetween the terminal and the base station in advance so that one cellcan be uniquely selected.

As described above, according to Embodiment 3, the CoMP terminal selectsthe sequence used by the cell having the largest path loss among thepath losses of links reported to the base station. Thus, the sequenceused by the cell having the large path loss can be used as the DM-RS forthe CoMP terminal regardless of whether the cell configuring the CoMPsubset is selected based on the path loss between the CoMP terminal andthe base station. Thus, it is possible to more reliably reduceintersymbol interference between the DM-RS of the CoMP terminal and theDM-RS of the non-CoMP terminal which occurs due to collapse ofothogonality of the Walsh sequence.

The present embodiment has been described in connection with the pathloss as an example; however, the present invention is not limitedthereto. The sequence may be selected based on the reception qualityinformation such as received signal code power (RSCP), reference signalreceived power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), andreceived Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), which are defined in the LTE.That is, by selecting the sequence used by the cell that is worst in thereception quality as the DM-RS for the CoMP terminal, the same effect asin the present embodiment is obtained.

In the above embodiments, the sequence used as the DM-RS for the CoMPterminal at the time of MU-MIMO may differ from that at the time ofsingle user (SU)-MIMO. Specifically, at the time of MU-MIMO, thesequence may be selected by the methods of Embodiments 1 to 3. Thus,degradation in the reception performance at the time of MU-MIMO isprevented. Further, at the time of SU-MIMO, the sequence may be selectedby a method different from the above embodiments. For example, similarlyto the non-CoMP terminal, the sequence used by the serving cell isselected. Thus, since the sequence used at the time of non-CoMPcommunication can be made the same as the sequence used at the time ofCoMP communication, the process for calculating the sequence may not beperformed. Since the intersymbol interference with another terminal doesnot occur at the time of SU-MIMO, the above mentioned problem does notoccur in the present invention.

The above embodiments have been described in connection with the examplein which the present invention is implemented by a hardwareconfiguration; however, the present invention may be implemented bysoftware.

Further, the functional blocks used for description of the aboveembodiment are typically implemented as large scale integrations (LSIs)which are integrated circuits (ICs). Further, each of the abovefunctional blocks may be implemented as a single chip, some or all ofthe above functional blocks may be implemented as a single chip. The LSIhas been used herein; however, according to the difference in theintegration, names such as an IC, a system LSI, a super LSI, or an ultraLSI may be used.

A circuit integration technique is not limited to the LSI, andimplementation by a dedicated circuit or a universal processor may beused. After the LSI is fabricated, a field programmable gate array(FPGA) which is programmable, or a reconfigurable processor capable ofreconfiguring connections or settings of circuit cells in the LSI may beused.

Further, when a circuit integration technique of replacing the LSI byanother technique advanced or derived from a semiconductor technologyappears, the functional blocks may be integrated using the technique.There may be a possibility that a biotechnology will be applied.

The above embodiments have been described in connection with theantenna, but the present invention may be similarly applied to anantenna port.

The antenna port refers to a logical antenna configured with one or morephysical antennas. That is, the antenna port is not necessarily referredto one physical antenna but may be referred to an array antennaconfigured with a plurality of antennas.

For example, in the 3GPP-LTE, the number of physical antennasconfiguring the antenna port is not defined, and the antenna port isdefined as a minimum unit in which the base station can transmitdifferent reference signals.

Further, the antenna port may be defined as a minimum unit formultiplying a weight of a precoding vector.

The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-169211, filed onJul. 17, 2009, including the specification, drawings and abstract, areincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Industrial Applicability

The radio communication terminal apparatus and the radio communicationmethod according to the present invention can be applied to a mobilecommunication system or the like.

Reference Signs List

-   101, 209, 400 Sequence information setting section-   102, 401, 601 CoMP set setting section-   103 Serving cell setting section 104, 403, 603 Cell selection    section-   105, 208 Transmission bandwidth setting section-   106 Sequence information calculating section-   107, 210 ZC sequence generation section-   108, 207 Walsh sequence multiplying section-   109 Mapping section-   110, 212, 218 IFFT section-   111 CP adding section-   112 RF Transmission section-   113, 201 Antenna-   202 Reception RF section-   203 CP removing section-   204 Demultiplexing section 205, 215 FFT section-   206, 216 Demapping section-   211 Dividing section-   213 Mask processing section-   214 DFT section-   217 Frequency domain equalizing section-   219 Demodulating section-   220 Decoding section-   402 CoMP subset setting section-   602 Path loss information setting section

The invention claimed is:
 1. A radio communication terminal apparatusthat performs transmission and reception with a plurality of basestations together in a coordinated manner that allows the plurality ofbase stations to receive and synthesize a transmission signal from theradio communication terminal apparatus, the radio communication terminalapparatus comprising: a base station selection section that selects abase station from among the plurality of base stations for performingtransmission and reception in the coordinated manner together with abase station of the plurality of base stations that transmits controlinformation addressed to the radio communication terminal apparatus; aZadoff-Chu (ZC) sequence generation section that generates a referencesignal using a ZC sequence assigned to the selected base station; and atransmission section that transmits the generated reference signal. 2.The radio communication terminal apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe base station selection section selects a base station other than abase station that actually transmits and receives data from among theplurality of base stations.
 3. A radio communication terminal apparatusthat performs transmission and reception with a plurality of basestations in a coordinated manner, the radio communication terminalapparatus comprising: a base station selection section that selects abase station other than a base station that transmits controlinformation addressed to the radio communication terminal apparatus fromamong the plurality of base stations; a Zadoff-Chu (ZC) sequencegeneration section that generates a reference signal using a ZC sequenceassigned to the selected base station; and a transmission section thattransmits the generated reference signal, wherein the base stationselection section selects a base station having a maximum path lossvalue from among the plurality of base stations.
 4. A radiocommunication method for performing transmission and reception by aplurality of base stations with a radio communication terminal apparatustogether in a coordinated manner that allows the plurality of basestations to receive and synthesize a transmission signal from the radiocommunication terminal apparatus, the radio communication methodcomprising: selecting a base station from among the plurality of basestations for performing transmission and reception in the coordinatedmanner together with a base station that transmits control informationaddressed to the radio communication terminal apparatus; generating areference signal using a Zadoff-Chu (ZC) sequence assigned to theselected base station; and transmitting the generated reference signal.